Wolfgang (1997)

Orchestra conductor “Werner” or is it “Wolfgang” (Stig Hoffmeier) is under pressure. With but moments to go before his concert, his French horn player has taken refuge in the basement refusing to play whilst his mother (Vera Gebuhr) is dressed to the nines, giving him an hard time and constitutes about ten percent of the assembled audience who are becoming increasingly impatient. Having done his best to placate just about everyone, he hopes to get onto the stage and perform his magnum opus - only to find one final hurdle in his path. Might this one, though, prove to be the one that opens his eyes and helps him escape from his hen-peckedness? This is a film that might resonate with men of a certain age who are still attached to the apron strings; the effort from the stressed-out hornist (Frits Helmuth) and the closing scene do raise a smile, but it does labour the joke a bit and somehow it’s fifteen minutes seems a little bit too long. Still, it’s no wonder that poor old “Werner” has hardly any hair!